by Rose Pressey
“All right, thank you for the information,” I said.
“You’re welcome,” she said.
“Oh, one more thing before you go. Do you know anything about a secret meeting place?”
She tapped her index finger against her bottom lip, trying to think of something. “Wait, there is one thing that could possibly be it.”
Excitement settled in as I waited for her response.
“She talked about going down to the river to paint. But that was some time ago. I don’t know if she still did that. Maybe that could be the secret meeting place, as you called it.”
Perhaps she was onto something with that. If she called it her secret hiding place, that would make sense.
“Thank you again for the information,” I said.
“You’re welcome, and I hope you find out who did this. What was your name again?”
“Celeste Cabot,” I said.
“I haven’t spoken with the officers in a few days, but I was hoping they’d made progress.”
She had no idea that I wasn’t with the police department. I certainly couldn’t tell her otherwise.
I waved. “Good-bye.”
Pierce was currently texting my phone and telling me that he needed to speak with me. Was I in some kind of trouble? Did he know I was here? I scanned the area for any sign of him. As soon as I got back to the truck, I’d have to call him. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous to hear what he had wanted.
Once in the truck, I placed the call, but it went to his voice mail. Maybe it wasn’t that important after all. Perhaps he was just calling to see if I wanted to have lunch. The thought made me happy and nervous at the same time. I supposed I could say yes to lunch. However, I couldn’t take him to my aunt’s place. It would be too awkward for her to see me there without Caleb. She’d automatically think that I was cheating on him.
I sent a text message and let Pierce know that I had received his message and had tried to call him back. As I shifted the truck into gear, I noticed something kind of unusual.
Someone was sitting in a car nearby. I thought she had been watching me. However, I couldn’t say for sure because she had on sunglasses and a hat. She diverted her attention from me. Perhaps she’d just been watching me for innocent reasons, which was nothing unusual. That happened every day, but I just had a bad feeling about her sitting there with that huge hat and sunglasses as if she was trying to be incognito.
Had she really been watching me on purpose, with more sinister intentions? Or was it completely innocent? I wasn’t sure what to do next. What if I left and she actually followed me? I supposed that was a chance I would have to take. I couldn’t sit in the parking lot all day.
After sitting there a couple more minutes and not hearing from Pierce, I decided that I had to leave. After shifting the truck into DRIVE, I headed out of the parking lot. As I pulled out onto the street, she didn’t even acknowledge me. That was a relief.
It had just been my imagination. I was being too worried about every little thing. Which was totally understandable, considering there had been a murder, but I couldn’t let that control my every thought. And I certainly wouldn’t live in fear because that was what I said I wouldn’t do—live in fear. Now I was doing exactly that. I flipped on the radio and tried to let the music distract me as I cruised down the road, headed back toward the craft fair.
As I cruised through the next green light, I realized that the woman was following me. Well, I supposed I couldn’t say for sure. Maybe it was just another coincidence that she was behind me. But in light of recent events, I had to keep my eye on her. What if she followed me all the way back to the craft fair?
What could I do to find out if she was really following me? It wasn’t like I was going to stop and walk back to her car and ask her. She could be a deranged lunatic, for all I knew. I would try to put some distance between us and, with any luck, get away from her. Thank goodness, the next light changed to green and didn’t stop me. I didn’t want to take the chance of having her sitting right behind me at the light.
Up ahead, I made the next right instead of waiting and going two streets down to head back to the craft fair. I wanted to see if she would follow me this way. The next street just led to businesses that I knew were closed for a few more hours. So she probably wouldn’t have any reason to go this way unless she was truly following me.
My anxiety ramped up as I drove. After traveling a bit down the road, I saw that she was still following me. This wasn’t good. What would I do now? How would I get away from her? I supposed the next street to the left would lead me back over to the road that led to the craft fair. I would have to take that and try to get away from her that way. I was just stunned that she was actually following me.
The woman stayed with me the entire time that I drove to the next street. She followed me all the way to the craft fair. I was completely panicked. To make matters worse, I couldn’t stop driving long enough to text Pierce or Caleb because I couldn’t take my eyes or hands off the wheel. This was a dangerous situation.
Perhaps if I got to the craft fair and she was still following me, I would be able to alert someone to the situation. What did this woman want? Why was she following me? Thank goodness, the church came into view up ahead. I whipped the truck into the parking lot, trying to keep my focus on driving, but also looking in the rearview mirror to see if she was still following me.
To my relief, the woman continued down the road and didn’t pull into the church parking lot. What was that all about? Surely, she had been following me. There was no way that she’d kept up with me for that long and it wasn’t on purpose. She just didn’t want to follow me all the way into the church parking lot. She knew who I was and why I was here. Now I just had to find out who she was and what she wanted.
Thank goodness, she hadn’t followed me here, but she would probably be back. No doubt, we would meet again. I pulled all the way to the back area of the lot. After parking the truck, I got out and headed toward my trailer. I hurried around the side of my trailer, keeping my eyes open for any sign of something strange.
As far as I knew, Caleb wasn’t at his trailer. I wasn’t sure if I should text Pierce or Caleb after all. Perhaps I would just keep my eyes open for her. If it happened again, I would definitely tell them. In the back of my mind, I knew that she had followed me on purpose. I just wanted to have proof before I said anything.
The itch to paint came over me. Was it because a message was trying to come through to me? Just as I thought about collecting my supplies to paint, the sound of traffic came from nearby. Stepping around to the other side of the trailer, I spotted the crowd gathering in the distance. I’d totally forgotten about today’s events.
CHAPTER 24
During the slow times, check out other places and things at the craft fair. Compare prices. Get ideas. Look for ghosts and murder suspects.
The fact that today was the annual craft fair closing party had slipped my mind. Everyone was flocking to the large field area behind the church for food, fun, and games. There would be hamburgers, corn dogs, cotton candy, caramel apples, funnel cakes, and fried everything. I spotted the clowns across the way. They were already making balloon animals for the kids. There were even pony rides.
I knew my family would make an appearance soon. And if they caught up to me, I would never be able to paint a new hidden message. I definitely didn’t want my brothers’ input on my art. That would be a disaster for sure.
“What are you doing?” Ama asked.
I jumped again. “Oh, you scared me.”
“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.
“What are we doing now?” Grandpa scowled.
“I’m scanning the crowd for my family. I don’t know what to do with them if they show up.”
“You don’t want to see your family?” Grandpa asked.
“Not right now,” I said.
“That’s disgraceful,” he said.
“If you met my family, you would understa
nd.”
“That’s true, Grandpa. I’ve met them, and they are definitely different.”
He shook his head. “No matter. Family is family. If they’re on their way, you should stay here and wait for them.”
Without listening to his advice, I decided to leave. I’d only moved an inch when I spotted my brothers. Unfortunately, we made eye contact. It was too late. They’d seen me. I waved as they walked toward me.
“What should I do now?” I asked.
“I guess you have no choice but to stay with them. Oh, I know, just tell them there’s a few things you have to wrap up. I bet they’ll understand,” Ama said.
“You stay out of this,” Grandpa said.
“Oh, here come my mom and dad now.”
“See, it’s good that you stayed,” Grandpa said.
“Just wait until you meet everyone,” Ama said.
“They can’t be that bad.”
My brothers approached first.
“What’s going on, sis?”
I gestured over my shoulder. “I was just going to wrap things up at the trailer so we can enjoy this day.”
“You mean you haven’t finished everything yet? You knew we were coming. You should’ve had all that done.”
I had a murder investigation to wrap up. That was what I had to get done.
“I entered the hot dog eating contest.” Stevie pointed out the sign.
Oh no. This wouldn’t end well.
“I don’t think you should try that,” I said.
“Are you kidding me? I can eat more hot dogs than anybody here,” he said.
“But you can’t eat more than me,” Hank said.
I faced Ama. “See, this is why I said this was a bad idea.”
I’d forgotten and talked to Ama.
“Who are you talking to? Are you completely insane?” Stevie asked.
“All right, if you must know, there’s a ghost here.”
They burst out in laughter. Which was exactly what I knew they would do.
“I’m being serious, you guys. Plus, there’s another ghost right there.” I pointed at Grandpa.
“You really are a wacko.”
Why did I feel like I was twelve again?
“Okay, fine, don’t believe me,” I said.
“I should do something to make them believe you,” Ama said. “I don’t know what, but surely I can do something.”
“We can just get out of here, that’s what we can do,” Grandpa said.
“I have to do something so that they know that Celeste is telling the truth.” Ama waved her hand in front of their faces.
They didn’t notice a thing.
“Are you going to watch us eat the hot dogs?” Hank asked.
“Fine, I’ll do it,” I said.
I was just stalling for time anyway until I could reach Caleb or Pierce. I walked over with my brothers to the table where they were setting up for the hot dog eating contest. Grandpa and Ama came with us.
“Why are they doing this?” Grandpa asked.
“I guess just to impress everyone with their abilities and win money,” I said.
Grandpa shook his head. “Those are crazy reasons.”
Stevie and Hank sat down at the long table full of hot dogs, taking their positions to start the contest. Soon the timer went off, and the contest was underway. I had to admit they were in the lead. They were basically competing with each other.
I scanned through the crowd to see if I recognized any familiar faces. I thought for sure I’d seen someone watching us from a distance behind one of the trees. The person wore a large straw hat and dark sunglasses so that I couldn’t make out who it was, but I thought for sure they had their eyes set on me. That sent a shiver down my spine.
When the person realized that I had noticed them, they moved behind a tree again. Naturally, I was curious as to who was watching me. But I also wasn’t sure that I wanted to know. What if it was the killer? I wished I could get a better view. With everyone distracted by the contest, I decided I would get a bit closer. Not too close. I didn’t want to get away from the crowd. Heading toward the trees, I stepped away from the main fair area.
“Where are you going?” Ama asked.
“Someone was watching us from behind that tree over there,” I said out of the corner of my mouth.
“That’s where you’re headed now?” Grandpa asked. “That’s a bad idea. It could be dangerous.”
“I’m not going too close,” I said.
I weaved around two people eating cotton candy and a couple of clowns who tried to make me laugh with their dancing. They were giving me anxiety. Maybe not a full-on panic attack, but their dancing was still panic-inducing. I made my way around them and decided that I was now close enough. But I saw no sign of the person who had been watching me.
The person must have taken off when they saw me headed that way. And that was probably a good thing. I didn’t want to encounter the killer. However, I wanted to find him so that we could put him in jail. My attention went back over to the crowd to see what was going on with the hot dog eating contest. Surely, they’d be done soon.
CHAPTER 25
Don’t back out and leave the fair before it ends. You might miss out on late customers—or the chance to solve a murder.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement. On my left, I spotted my neighbor. Karla didn’t acknowledge me. That was probably just as well since we weren’t exactly on friendly terms. I had given up hope of her being friendly. Regardless, she was still on my list of suspects anyway. And she would remain there until I had reason to take her off. More than anything, I wanted to find a reason to take her off. I wanted to narrow down the list more than anyone.
On the table next to her craftwork, I noticed something. A pair of sunglasses. Of course, lots of people had sunglasses, so that wasn’t unusual, but they were a lot like the pair I’d seen the woman in the car wearing. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions, because I hadn’t been able to see her well. All I knew was that they were big, black, and round, like the sunglasses on Karla’s table.
But still that was in my mind now. Finding out that she was the killer wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. After all, she was on my list. Maybe she was the killer and felt I was getting too close to solving this crime. It could have been her in the car. All that was missing was the hat. Perhaps I would see that nearby. Was Karla the person in the vehicle? I had no idea what kind of car she drove. She wouldn’t follow me in her car, would she?
I had to find out what kind of car she drove. Karla got up from her chair. Now was my chance. I had to follow her. I trailed her down the path toward the parking area. Thank goodness, she hadn’t noticed me behind her.
When we reached the parking area, I paused and watched as she walked toward a car. Just as I suspected. It was the car that had been behind me. My heart beat faster. What would I do now? Karla got something out of the car. Instead of coming back my way, she headed toward the festival area. I had to check out that car and make sure it was the exact one. Would I find the hat that she’d worn?
Now that she had stepped away, I rushed over to the car. No one was around the vehicle, but I had to make sure that it stayed that way. I didn’t want to get caught snooping. Once I reached the car, I scanned the surroundings, trying to act casual. I yawned. I checked the time on my watch. Was I being too obvious? Perhaps. With no one watching, I stepped up closer to the car and peered inside. It was a mess inside.
I noticed the camera sitting right there on the seat. I reached out and tried the door handle. The car was unlocked. Did I dare pick the camera up and take a gander? If anyone saw me, they would think that I was trying to take the camera. How would I explain that to Pierce or Caleb. I supposed that was a chance I’d have to take because I was too curious to let this opportunity pass me by.
With my heart beating faster and my legs shaking, I opened the car door. I hurried and grabbed the camera. The name on the camera shocked me. Mark. What
was his camera doing in this car? I knew little about cameras, so I hoped that I wouldn’t mess this up or do the wrong thing. But they were all alike, right? I hoped. I pushed on the POWER button, and the screen popped up with pictures. I moved the little arrow button and scrolled through.
The first photos were of a red car. I’d never seen it before. I scrolled through to the next pictures. Flowers. How sweet. He didn’t seem like he would be interested in flowers as the subject for his pictures. Next were tree and landscape photos. But the next photo I recognized right away. A photo of the river. The same river where Erica had been found. My fear grew as I studied the photo. This guy had been to the river.
When I got to the next photo, my heart skipped a beat. I surveyed the surroundings to see if anybody was watching. Still no one was around. I needed to show this evidence to Caleb and Pierce, but I couldn’t take the camera.
Erica was in the photo at the river. And even worse, it appeared that she was wearing the same clothing as the day I had found her body. The photo was taken at the scene of the crime when Erica had been murdered. There had to be a way to get the date from this photo. That would prove the exact time it had been taken.
Needless to say, I was excited about what I’d found. I had to take a photo of this camera and the screen for proof. Setting the camera on the hood of the car, I pulled out my phone. This could be the thing that solved the case. After snapping a photo, I hurried and put the camera back on the seat just as I’d found it.
I felt as if I might be running out of time. Now what would I do with this information? I had to hurry back to the trailer so that I could call Pierce and Caleb. Which one to call first? It was Pierce’s case, so I would have to call him, although doing that would probably make Caleb feel left out. Surely, he would understand. Yes, he was a professional, and I knew he would understand.
When I got back to my trailer, I took Van in my arms, pulled out my phone, and dialed Pierce’s number.
